I am a 26 female diagnosed with Schizophrenia. I am currenly on 20 mg of Abilify. I suffer alot from stress with this condition as the medication has not yet impacted on the postive symptoms. I am wondering if the stress i experience now will have any affect on my body/genes in a way that it would affect the health of any children I may have. I am aware that you must look after your health(no drink/drugs and good nutririon) during the pregnancy itself to ensure a healthy child. What about the condition of your body pre pregnancy. Will this have any affect on the health of a child?

The stress that you are experiencing now is not likely to create damage in your body that would affect a future fetus. A high level of stress while pregnant, however, can be difficult for both the mother and fetus. I'm not aware of any specific damage that would occur to either the mother or fetus, unless there was an underlying physical condition (such as irritable bowel syndrome) that could be reactive to stress. The concern during pregnancy for you would be the type of medications that you take for your schizophrenia; antipsychotics are designated as Class C pregnancy risk. That means that either 1) studies in animals have revealed adverse effects on the fetus and there are no controlled studies in women, or 2) studies in women and animals are not available. Such drugs should be given only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus. If you plan a pregnancy, you can plan with your obstetrician/gynecologist (OB/GYN) about the best action to take during your pregnancy, in coordination with your psychiatrist. If you become pregnant without planning it, then you should see your OB/GYN and psychiatrist right away.